Bear Baiting

By modern morality, the sport of bear-baiting is a repugnant form of blood sport: a bear would be chained to a post in the ring, still able to move, but not escape, and dogs would be set on the animal. Spectators would bet on whether it would be the dogs or the bear that would survive the vicious fight that ensued.

Some of the bears were unfortunate enough to have long and bloody careers, becoming stars in their own right. Sackerson was one such animal and was immortalized in Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor."